Improvement in car-couplings



L. RECHT Car-Clwplings.y Nonwoog()l Patented April 21,1874.

#7m/@Vina UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

LEANEY RECHT, OF PLATTE CITY, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT yIN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part ofLettcrs Patent No. 150,080, dated April 21, 1874; application filed December 17, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEANEY RECHT, of Platte City, in the county of Platte and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Coul'ilings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a car-coupling, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section of my carcoupling. Fig. 2 is a front view of one of the draw-heads, and Fig. 3 is a front view of the other draw-head.

A and A represent the draw-bars of two adjoining railroad-cars, the front ends of which are provided with the usual flaring-mouthed head B. In each draw-head B is a sliding block, C, provided on its upper side, in the center, with a tongue or lip, a, which extends a short distance in front of the block, and runs in a longitudinal groove, x, formed in the roof of the draw-head. This prevents any lateral movement of the block, as the tongue a acts as a guide for the same, and directs it in its movement back and forth. From the back of the block C extends a rod, b, longitudinally through the draw-bar, and through a cross-bar, e, within the same, a nut, i, being screwed upon the extreme rear end of the rod up to said cross-bar. The rod b is, between the block C and cross-bar e, surrounded with a spiral spring,d, which forces the block forward, so as to bring the projecting' end of the tongue b under the pin-hole in the top of the draw-head, and support the coupling-pin. By turning the nut t', the tension of the spring d may be regulated, and the forward movement of the block C adjusted or limited. To accomplish this object, and allow of any of the interior parts being repaired, the bottom of the draw-bar is provided with a hinged door, E, held closed by a button or other suitable device, so that it can be readily opened and the interior parts examined, repaired, and adjusted without removing the draw-bar from the car. The backward movement of the block C is limited by means of stops j', formed on or attached to the inside of the draw-bar. D represents the coupling-pin, of the ordinary form, and arr. nged, with the draw-bar A, in the following manner: On the pin I), at a suitable height, is formed or attached a collar,

7L, above which a spiral spring, h1, surrounds the pin, a washer, 71.2, being placed loosely on the pin above said spring. The upper end of the pin D passes through an inverted stirrup, m, the ends of which are hinged to ears or projections u n on top of the draw-head. The upper end of the pin has a suitable head, to' be attached to a rod or other device, for uncoupling. It will readily be seen that, when the pin is raised so that the block C is moved forward to support the pin, the spring h1 is compressed, and, hence, when the block is forced back by the coupling-link, the spring' h1 will force the pin down into the link, and through the pin-hole in the bottom of the drawhead. Vhen the pin is raised, resting upon the tongue a, the inverted stirrup m, though forming a guide for the pin, and preventing its entire withdrawal from the drawhead, still, by being hinged, as above described, imparts a certain degree of flexibility' to the coupling-pin, allowing it, as it goes down, to enter the hole in the coupling-link, though said hole may not be directly on a vertical line with the pin; or, in other words, a little in front or rea-r of the same. In such cases, the pin will rest on the bottom of the draw-head until, by the. motion of the cars, it is brought on a line with the bottom pin-hole, when the spring h1 throws it down into the same. The coupling-link G is a solid bar, with a hole in each end for the passage of the coup- 'ling-pins. On the draw-bar A', I have shown a different arrangement of the coupling-pin. In this case I use a short pin, D1, attached at its upper end to a cross-bar, D2; apd from said crossbar extends another pin, D?, downward through a tube, D4, attached to the side of the draw-head. The pin D3 is, within the tube, surrounded by a spring, D5. J is a lever, pivoted in a slot in the rear end of the draw- Y bar, and connected, by in shackle, s, with the The hinged stirrup m, in combination with rear end of the rod b, to draw the bleek C the pin D, collar h, spring h1, and Washer h2,

back when, at :my time this should be desrsubstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

able, without inserting the eouplinglink.' LEANEY RECHT.

H: ving thus fully described my invention, ,Witnessesz Y what I claim als new, and desire to secure by ELUAH H. NORTON,

Letters Pil-tent, isn G. NV. SMITH. 

